Beowulf

Is he truly a hero?

Beowulf

Is he truly a hero?

Beowulf

Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon poem about a man who vanquishes monsters. This poem has been well told over the years by everyone, but some have thought that he may not be a hero. However, Beowulf is a hero; He vanquishes monsters and does things for the good of the people.

Grendel

Grendel is a terrible beast in the story of Beowulf. He sneaks into the Danish mead hall called Herot, and consumes the bodies of the soldiers that sleep there. Beowulf hears of Grendel, and travels from his home to help them in their time of need (Page 42). He then meets Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, who explains the problem to Beowulf. Most of his men have left and gave up hope. Beowulf had a plan though, he stayed awake that night and when Grendel showed up, he watched as he ate two soldiers (page 47). Grendel then picks up Beowulf and just as he is about to devour him, he springs up into battle, and defeats him (page 47).

Grendels Mother

Unfortunately, Beowulf's work was not done yet. That night, a huge beast enters the mead hall as the soldiers slept, and devoured king Hrothgars best friend (page 51). He then has Beowulf go and vanquish Grendels mother. He went to the lair of the monsters horrible mother, and battled her. It was a long battle; leaving Beowulfs equipment useless. He takes a magical sword, and defeats Grendels mother. Out of all the treasures that was in the lair, all Beowulf even took was the hilt of the sword, and Grendels head (Page 55).

Beowulfs Last Battle

It has been a long time since the battles with Grendel and his mother, and Beowulf has become the King of his people, the Geats. However, a dragon that has been sleeping in a tower for thousands of years has finally been disturbed; starting to terrorize the Geats. Beowulf then says, "I've never known fear, as youth I fought in endless battles. I am old, now, But I will fight again, seek fame still, if the dragon hiding in his tower dares to face me (Page58)," so he then takes his best men to the tower to face the beast. As they spot the dragon, Beowulf steps up to battle, and all the other soldiers left except one, a young soldier named Wiglaf. Throughout the fight, Beowulfs equipment started to break, and had to use to him, but even though he knew of his terrible fate, he still fought to the end, for the good of the geats (Page 60). Wiglaf then ran into battle, and aided Beowulf in battle, and finally they defeated the creature, together. As Beowulf is dying, he requested Wiglaf to bring him some of the treasures and rap them around his body, and for them to build a tower in his honor (Page 64).

Beowulf the Hero

Beowulf, in his time and ours, has been an epic hero. admittedly he has done most of his good deeds for fame, but he also did them to stop the evil from spreading across the land, Even though he watched a guy get eaten (Page 47), or how he died in a pile of treasure (Page 64), Beowulf has done things for others. He has helped Hrothgar defeat Grendel in his time of need (Page 42). He also did not take the vast treasures of grendels mothers lair, but only took the sword and Grendels head (Page 55). He shows that when there is trouble, or people need help, Beowulf the epic hero will be there.